


I’m Not the Guy You’re Taking Home

by ebineez01



Category: Scarecrow Series - Matthew Reilly
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27006550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebineez01/pseuds/ebineez01
Summary: A story of friendship on one hand, and unrequited love on the other
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	I’m Not the Guy You’re Taking Home

**Author's Note:**

> There is another canon character in this, but I haven’t put them in the tags cause I wanted it to come out in the story 🙂 hope you enjoy  
> And song that this was inspired by is Dancing on My Own, the Calum Scott version

"What're you doin' sittin' here all by yourself?" Mother asked as she dropped onto the stool next to the Scarecrow at the bar.

He shrugged.

Even though he had his silver reflective glasses on as usual, she could tell he was feeling down. "You know, there have been some mighty pretty girls checkin' you out tonight."

"Is that so?" Shane asked, not particularly interested.

"Yeah," she replied. "It is."

"Funny, doesn't seem as though any of the multitude has managed to make it over here."

"Well, you spent half the night in the midst of..." she glanced over her shoulder to the rest of their team. "That lot! And no woman is gonna come within a mile of that!"

Shane chuckled despite himself. "And the other half?"

She leant over, her face within inches of his, as she used one finger to gently slide his glasses down his nose until his eyes were just visible over the top of them.

"And you're hiding behind these things," she said softly. "The whole, reflective glasses inside, at night thing...doesn't exactly make you overly approachable you know."

He snorted as he held her gaze. "And you think the alternative would?"

She let her forehead touch his. "You know if they can't see past these..."

Shane closed his eyes as her thumb lightly traced over one of his scars.

"They're not worth your time." She waited for him to look at her again before she continued. "We've all got scars Scarecrow. They're part of you, but they don't define you."

He knew Mother had some pretty damn impressive scars of her own, but there was a difference. "Easy for you to say...you've got Ralph..."

It was her turn to snort. "Yeah...well..."

He frowned. "What? You and Ralph are rock solid."

She just stared at him.

"He's seriously got a problem with your scars?"

"Some of 'em," she admitted. "He's known me since I was fifteen. I've racked up a few since then..."

"But they're part of you," he said quietly as he traced a finger along one of her more recent acquisitions, on the side of her neck. "They're all beautiful..." Then his eyes lifted back to hers and he smiled. "Just like you."

"Shit!" she replied. "You're gonna make me cry, you silver-tongued devil!"

"Well I can certainly appreciate every single one," he assured her. "After all, you probably got the majority of 'em savin' my sorry ass..."

She laughed. "Back at ya honey-buns!" Then she went quiet. "But seriously, how can you give me such sage advice...and then not follow it yourself?"

He sighed and looked down.

She glanced over his shoulder and smiled.

"What?" he asked.

"All the gals from the motor pool just turned up," she replied. "And you know every single one of 'em has a crush on you, you sexy thing..."

"Mother..."

"Hey!" she called, waving her hand to the new arrivals.

"Not that I think _any_ of them has a crush on me," he hissed. "But I know _one_ who definitely doesn't!"

She narrowed her eyes at him, moments before turning a sunny grin on the five women who were headed their way.

"Captain Schofield," one of the younger women greeted. Shane glanced at her as he replied. "Hi Jen." She may have been talking to him, but her eyes never left his companion, and he tried to hide his smile. She couldn't have been more than twenty, and he thought it was sweet that she had a crush on Mother.

"Hi Mother," the girl said with an open smile.

"Hi Jen..."

The young woman brazenly reached out a hand, her fingers trailing along the same scar Schofield's had minutes before. "That's a new one," she breathed. "Looks like it hurt...how'd you get it?"

"Ah...well that's..." Mother replied haltingly. It wasn't that she didn't like the kid, she did, quite a lot actually. But she could see the way she looked at her, and she just didn't want to lead her on.

"Rat tried to eat her face off," Shane supplied, smiling.

Jen's eyes widened and Mother took the opportunity to turn her attention back to rest of the women who had stopped beside them. "Ladies!" she said, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. "My boy here could use some cheering up...why don't you all take him to a nice secluded table in back, ply him with alcohol..." Mother turned her eyes on him, a sly smile coming to her lips. "And convince him he's about the sexiest thing any of you have ever seen!"

The women chuckled, glancing between each other then back to Mother and the Scarecrow, not really sure...just as Mother bodily pushed him up off his stool so that he stumbled into the middle of them.

He was about to turn tail when he felt a pair of strong hands on his back propelling him forward.

"He won't bite ladies," she assured them, smiling when a couple of the more senior women took a hand each and encouraged him to come with them. He turned his head to look back at her. "Wouldn't wanna be rude now would ya Scarecrow?"

"Come with me!" he pleaded, resigned now to his fate, but hoping at least not to have to face it alone.

"I'm sure you can handle this one on your own," she grinned.

"What happened to 'always'!?" he mumbled as the women led him away.

"Where's the Boss?" Astro asked looking around, as Mother plonked herself in the middle of the rest of the unit.

She grinned and jerked her chin towards the rear of the bar, where those motor pool gals were doin' her proud if the smile on the Scarecrow's face was anything to go by. One of them placed a tray full of drinks on the table and they all cheered causing him to laugh. "Shit!" she murmured appreciatively...seems they'd taken her quite literally about plying him with booze...

"Whoa boy!" she said, her hand landing on Astro's arm as he made to rise. "Where d'you think you're going?"

He motioned towards where the Scarecrow was sitting with the motor pool babes. "I'm going to rescue him," he replied, not understanding how she hadn't already. "You know he'd be hating all that attention!"

"Siddown kid," she sighed.

"But..."

"Sit!"

Astro blinked and dropped back into his chair.

Mother gazed at Astro. He was a good kid, a bit green, but he had promise and was as keen as mustard. He sure had shown he wanted to learn, always hanging back after training to ask questions, even convincing Scarecrow to give him extra hand-to-hand lessons to get him up to speed with the rest of the unit. She chuckled to herself at the vision of him following the Scarecrow around like an adoring puppy. He worshipped the ground he walked on and she was sure he'd follow him into hell as surely as she would. Even when they went on their ten mile runs, you were always sure to find Astro on Scarecrow's six.

"Look at him!" She waited until he turned to look at the Scarecrow right as he downed a drink. "Does it look like he's hating it? Just let him enjoy himself for once!"

Shane was reluctant at first, but when the first tray of drinks hit the table he thought... _why the fuck not!?_ And as it turned out, the Marines from the motor pool, well they were pretty fucking amazing women. And Jesus they had mouths on them...they could've taught his unit a thing or two, except for Mother of course. And to his surprise...they made him laugh, made him forget about having to be the boss, the responsible one looking after 'the kids'. And he wasn't even sure how or when Private Jen Harris had ended up wearing his glasses, but none of them had looked at him or treated him any differently without them. After another five or six trays of drinks, all five of them had even managed to drag him up onto the dance floor, their rhythm making him look slightly less bad.

Seated back at the table they'd dragged him to hours ago, he glanced over at his unit, not surprised to find Mother's eyes on him. He raised his glass and titled his head slightly, laughing when she blew him a kiss.

What he didn't notice was the second pair of eyes on him. Eyes that had been on him for the last two hours. Eyes that were always on him, though he never noticed. Ever...

Astro had watched as, hours ago, Mother had gone to him. Sat with him, so close to him. He wasn't jealous of her as such...but god how he wished he could touch the Scarecrow the way she so easily could. His heart ached when she leant close to him, pulling his glasses down, her hands tracing his face, the scars he'd never even properly seen...but longed to...longed to pull him close and place his lips on that very spot that Mother touched. His heart had raced at the thought. Yes he wished it could be him who was there for Scarecrow instead, but she would bring him back to them, to him, the way she always did so for that he was grateful.

But then, she came back, and he wasn't with her. She'd pointed him to a table way in back where Scarecrow sat with five women he vaguely knew from the garage. Then she'd stopped him from going to him, to bring him back to them himself, because surely he would rather be with his own men. But then as he'd watched, he'd picked up a shot glass and dropped it in a beer and sculled the entire thing to the raucous cheers of those around him. And then, then he did something that Astro had rarely seen him do. He smiled, broad and genuine...and Astro's heart soared and fell in the same instant. That smile...he couldn't even describe how it made him feel to see it...but it wasn't aimed at them...at him...

Mother had started to shoot him some strange looks as he'd continued to stare in their direction. She'd even asked him a few times if he was okay. And goddamnit! Why couldn't he shake this!? He didn't want to feel this way...he knew there was little chance Scarecrow would ever feel the same way... _fuck! Face it you fucktard! He'll never feel about you the way you feel about him..._

After she shoved him and raised her eyebrows for the fifth time, he smiled and said he was going to the bathroom. When Scarecrow had let the women pull him up to dance, Astro had to get away from them all. He thought he couldn't feel any worse when he'd let the younger one have his glasses, but then one of them took his hand and stood. Astro held his breath as he watched her tug his hand, watched those gorgeous blue eyes gaze up at her...and he didn't know why his heart was beating so hard...surely he wouldn't...

Shane was surprised when she took his hand. He liked Jill well enough, but...she tugged on his hand and smiled...

"It's just a dance..."

And then a nice slow song came on and he smiled back and stood. _It's just a dance..._

Astro leant back against the wall as the Scarecrow stood and followed her to the dance floor...

and then he allowed the pretty dark haired woman to pull him close...and fuck it! Why did it have to be _this_ song...

His gut clenched as her head tilted up, Scarecrow's hand coming up to cup her face...

Astro felt the back of his head hit the wall of the shadowy corner he'd found, his eyes clenched tight against the dampness he felt there...

_I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her  
I'm right over here, why can't you see me  
_ _And I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the guy you're taking home  
_ _And I keep dancing on my own..._

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed 🙂  
> I had that song playing on repeat the whole time I was writing this and it made me feel so sorry for Shane at the beginning and Astro at the end 😢 poor boys


End file.
